A Living Flame
by Fanofeverything101
Summary: Johnny thought he knew everything there was to know about his powers. He was wrong. Johnny wants desperately to keep his family safe from his new abilities, but not everyone else does.
1. Prologue

I do not own the characters, or show or anything. Any characters, or song lyrics that are used belong to their respective owner. There will be a list at the end of the story that will tell you what songs are used in each chapter and who sings them.

Prologue

"Is it ready?" A deep voice asked from the shadows by the door.

"Yes sir. As long as the I.V. stays in, he won't be getting out of here." The short, bald man responded, walking away from the machines that surrounded the chair that sat in the middle of the room, "Now, about my paycheck…"

"Oh, don't worry doctor," The voice interrupted, "you'll get what's coming to you."

The doctor barely had time to blink before green lightning was fired at him. The doctor fell to the ground screaming in pain as the man came out of the shadows, the lightning still shooting out of his hand. The man didn't stop the lightning until he stood in front of the doctor who was lying in a fetal position.

"But, but you, you said…" The doctor started as he stared up at the man wearing a full body suit completely made of metal, but again the man interrupted, "No, now doctor. Didn't anyone ever tell you that a secret kept by only one person, is the only way it stays a secret?"


	2. Lost in The Fire

_Lost in the Fire_

 _I was the match and you were the rock, maybe we started this fire, we sat apart and watched, all we had burn on the pyre_

Johnny followed the rest of the team into the living room of the Baxter Building in complete and utter silence. Nobody said a word on the way back and no one, not even Sue had so much has glanced in his direction. Even after all the other times he screwed up, Sue always looked at him, first to make sure he wasn't actually hurt, then to yell at him. Not this time, this time it was like Ben, Reed and Sue were refusing to acknowledge Johnny's existence.

When they entered the room, Johnny looked around for Valeria and Franklin. While he saw the room was empty except for the four of them, Johnny knew they were probably still in hearing distance, which meant it wouldn't be long before the kids would seek them out, especially if they heard them fighting. Despite knowing that, Johnny couldn't stand another minute of his team's, his sister's silence.

"Look, guys. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened." Johnny said, trying to sound sincere has he lied through his teeth. He WAS sorry, but he did know exactly what happened. And it terrified him, but there was no way he was going to admit it to his team.

"Of course you didn't," Ben replied, voice was thick with sarcasm, "it's always 'It was an accident' or 'I don't know what happened'. When are ya gonna grow up and take some responsibility?" Ben finished, sarcasm fading into exhaustion as he sat down on the couch. Reed and Sue followed in suit.

"Guys -" Johnny started, trying to play it off as no big deal, but Sue was having none of it. She turned to him, anger filling her eyes.

"Enough Johnny, because believe it or not your mistakes or 'accidents' as you like to call them get a little old." Sue even put air quotes with her fingers when she said 'accidents'. "Johnny I swear, sometimes you do more harm than good."

"Hey, not all those mishaps were my fault. Some were just accidents." Johnny pointed out, his voice rising. At the moment, Johnny was getting too angry and too desperate to remember that his nephew and niece were in the building and would seek them out the minute they realized that they were back.

"But how many more mistakes can we tolerate here Johnny. You could've killed someone tonight." Sue was full on yelling at him now, so of course Johnny yelled back.

"'How many of my mistakes can we tolerate?' What about Reed? He's made at least as many mistakes as me with his inventions, and science. I don't see anyone questioning him or holding it over his head."

"That's not the point Johnny."

"I thought that the point was about how we all make mistakes. It's not fair to hold mine over my head if you're not going to hold it over Reed's or Ben's or yourself."

Reed stared at the two siblings, each getting more angry and frustrated by the second. He was planning on just letting the two of them fight it out themselves, but when Johnny brought him into it, he felt the need to defend himself. He stood up and went to his wife's side explaining, "This isn't about me Johnny, this is about you."

Johnny, not missing a beat shot back at him saying, "Oh, so now it's about me. Every day I hear 'it's not all about you Johnny' but now when you guys want to yell at me, it suddenly is? Gee, when did I miss that?"

"Jonathan Storm, shut up NOW!" Sue full on screamed. The entire team stared at her. Never had Sue screamed at anyone in such a manner before, and most definitely not at her brother.

"Johnny, you messed up tonight. You almost ruined the job and you almost killed someone. And I for one am getting tired of cleaning up your messes. So you can leave, and come back when you finally grow up because I can't take it anymore." Sue's voice, though quiet was as sharp as a whip and hurt just as badly.

Johnny stared his sister in complete and utter shock. Sue has never complained about his actions in the field like it was personal. She always made sure that it was the team who felt this or was upset about that. And because of that, Johnny knew no matter what, he would always have his sister by his side. Now he wasn't so sure. He could tell from Sue's face that this had been building up for a while, and one glance at his other teammates told him she wasn't the only one.

"What's going on?" A small voice pierced the silence. All four heads turned to the door when Franklin and Valeria stood in their PJ's, watching them.

"Nothing. Go back to bed kids." Johnny replied as he turned and walked towards the door in the opposite direction so that he wouldn't have to pass his niece and nephew.

"Uncle Johnny, wait." Johnny stopped when he heard Franklin's pleading voice. He turned his head and saw Franklin staring at him, his eyes begging while Val looked close to tears. Johnny knew then, that they had heard everything, or at least enough to know that this was a really bad fight.

"You two be good, okay. I love you." With that said Johnny walked out the door and didn't look back. Not his niece or nephew, not at his teammates, and not at his sister. He stared straight ahead as he made his way out of the apartment.

 _Things we lost to the flames, things we'll never see again, all that we've amassed, sits before us, shattered into ash_

Sue didn't move a muscle has she watched Johnny walk out the door. It wasn't much of a surprise since that was Johnny's way. Instead of dealing with something, he would just walk out, and she was too tired and too angry to go after him like she usually does. She instead turned to her children.

"Come one kids. Let's get you back into bed." She told them as she walked over to the door where the still stood.

"This is all your FAULT!" Franklin yelled at his mother before turning and running back down the hallway. Valeria on the other hand stood completely still, eyes full and tears and face downcast. Sue got down on her knees in front of her daughter.

"You two heard all of that, didn't ya." Sue asked softly. The 5 year old just nodded, not looking at her mother.

"Val?"

"You didn't mean it, did you Mom? You love Uncle Johnny don't you? And he's gonna come back right Momma?" Valeria asked, her words coming out so fast that it took a minute for Sue to piece together what she said, but at that point tears were already running down her daughter's face.

"Honey, of course I love Uncle Johnny, it's just that… sometimes he can be… it's complicated. Come one, let's get you back into bed." Sue stood up, grabbed Valeria's hand and took her to her bedroom while Reed and Ben continued watching in silence.

"So what do you think?" Ben asked Reed who was running his hands through his hair.

"I don't know Ben. Part of me thinks the kid is a walking time bomb, but I know he tries to be helpful and we do need him. It's just, he can make it so difficult."

"It'd be easier if he just grew up and actually try to be responsible." Ben replied.

"Do you think it was an accident? It didn't really look like Johnny was near the fire when it started, but if it wasn't him who could it have been?"

"I dunno, but I do know he didn't look surprised. In fact, he kinda looked, horror stricken."

 _These are the things, the things we lost, the things we lost in the fire, fire, fire, these are the things, the things we lost, the things we lost in the fire, fire, fire_

Johnny walked down the hallway and out of the apartment seething in anger, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. He didn't trust himself in a metal box, and he wasn't going to 'flame on' like he usually did as he didn't wanna risk losing control over his powers again.

However, by the time he got to the main floor, he could practically feel his blood burning. Johnny quickly ducked into the bathroom and splashed ice cold water in his face. Well, he assumed it was ice cold since he hasn't truly felt cold since he got his powers, but he hoped it would be enough to calm him down.

It took several splashes of cold water before he finally felt the heat that was swelling inside him die down. Johnny looked up into the mirror and saw that the water was in fact not successful. The small bit of floor in front of the bathroom stall right behind him was on fire. Johnny immediately turned the water back on, scooped it up with his hands and threw it onto the flames.

Luckily the fire was still rather small so it didn't take long for Johnny to put it out. The second Johnny realized that the fire was truly gone, he left the bathroom and walked to the doors as fast as he could without drawing attention. The minute he was out of the building, he flamed on and flew to his apartment deeper into the city. While he was still nervous about his powers getting out of control he was hoping that if he 'flamed on' it might burn off whatever it was that was going on with his powers, plus it would make the trip to his apartment much faster.

 _(You said) we were born with nothing, and we sure as h**l have nothing now_

Reed was only in his lab for a couple of minutes when Sue walked in. Reed turned to look at her and knew that this rough day had just gotten worse for her. Her blonde hair was falling out of her ponytail, her shoulders slumped and her blue eyes were red due to unshed tears. Sue continued into the room and sat down beside him, resting her head on her fist.

"That bad?" Reed asked, turning his chair to face her.

"By the time Val did stop crying, she still was too upset, told me she didn't want me to read her a story and basically to leave her alone. Franklin, he didn't even let me through the door. They think that I pushed Johnny out the door and that he's not going to come back."

"Sue, all they know is that you and Johnny had a fight, he got upset and he left. It's natural that they're going to assume it was your fault. Don't worry, it'll blow over. It always does." Reed explained, placing a hand on her knee.

"I know, it's just that they love Johnny so much, especially Franklin. They look up to him and I don't think he knows how much of an influence he has on them. Franklin is so much like Johnny that it's scary. And I don't want the kids to be walking hazards like Johnny is. I just wish he'd grow up." Sue sighed before she stood up and said, "I'm going to bed. It's been a long day."

"You gonna call and check on Johnny." Reed asked, since that's what she usually did but to his surprise, she shook her head.

"I don't want to talk to him. I'm too tired, and still too angry. Besides, I'm sure he's fine."

 _Do you understand that we will never be the same again?_

Johnny, slight sauntering, made his way up to his apartment. It wasn't until he landed in the alley by his apartment building did he realize how tired he was. It had been taking a lot more effort to keep his powers in check, added with the rescue at the collapsed building earlier that day and his fight with Sue, Johnny was almost downright exhausted.

As Johnny entered his apartment and took a look around. Practically half of everything showed signs of previously being on fire. Chairs, ends of the counters, the one back end on his couch, parts of the table, they were all charred black and gave off the smell of ash. Johnny didn't need the lights one to see how bad it was. Oh yes, he knew what had gone wrong earlier, he just had no idea how to control it. It had been happening for weeks, ever since Victor Doom had kidnapped Franklin.

It had been a simple, easy day, three weeks ago. Johnny had just been chilling at his place, Ben was with Alicia, and Sue had taken Val swimming for a friend's birthday party or something like that, leaving Franklin home with Reed. Victor attacked quickly, taking Franklin, almost killing Reed and almost destroying the entire Baxter Building. While Reed was put in the infirmary with Alicia and Val in total lockdown, Sue, Ben and Johnny went after the man who had taken the young 10 year old.

During the rescue, Victor had sent his Doom bots to attack them. They were all surrounded, and during the fight, Johnny found himself protecting Franklin while Ben and Sue tried to get through the Doom bots to get to Doom. When Johnny saw five bots coming at Franklin, he threw himself in front of his nephew, wrapping his arms around him tightly, his back to the bots. When he felt nothing hit or attack him, he turned around and saw the bots on the ground, burning. They had caught fire, though Johnny hadn't 'flamed on' or touched them.

Johnny had been hoping it wasn't actually him that had caused the Doom bots to go up in flames, but he was proven wrong a couple of days later when his chair had caught fire. It had been his favorite chair too. After that, the random bursts of flames become more and more frequent. Johnny could be over 15 feet away, not flamed on and it would still catch fire. So Johnny stayed in his apartment, making sure that no one would get hurt and no one would figure out what was going on. It was working, until today at the collapsed building.

Johnny closed the door and kicked off his shoes. He was about to turn on the light when he heard it. It was a light hum, like the one you hear when you walked right underneath a working and used power line, a hum of electricity. The thing was though, was that Johnny didn't have anything on in his apartment. Johnny turned around and there he was, lurking in the shadows. 

Before he could flame on, green electricity hit him, covering his body from head to toe. Johnny fell to the ground, writhing in pain. It felt like hours though it was probably only a few minutes before Victor stopped the lighting. Johnny struggled to get up but when Victor saw this, he went over to where Johnny was lying and started kicking him in the ribs. After about 10 kicks, Victor stopped and bent down over Johnny, a knife twirled in his hands.

"Don't even try to flame on boy. You won't be doing anything with fire for a while." The last thing Johnny felt was the cold metal of the knife entering his abdomen.

 _Flames – they licked the walls, tenderly they turned to dust all that I adore_


	3. Time of Dying

**Author's note** \- In case you all haven't noticed, this is my first time publishing a story, so sorry if it's a little messy. I will try to do better as I continue updating. And I know I said before that I will post the songs and artists at the end, but I changed my mind. So the song last chapter was Things We Lost in the Fire by Bastille, and the two songs used in this chapter are Try by Pink and Time of Dying by Three Days Grace. Enjoy the next chapter.

 **Chapter 2**

 _Time of Dying_

 _Ever wonder about what he's doing? How it all turned to lies? Sometimes I think that it's better to never ask why_

Two days had past and there was no word from Johnny. Normally despite the fights they usually had, Johnny didn't go more than a couple of days without checking in, just to make sure everyone was okay. However, considering how bad the fight was, Reed, Ben and Sue didn't think twice about it. Valeria and especially Franklin did though. Barely an hour passed without either Franklin or Val asking if whether or not Johnny had checked in.

As if on cue, Franklin turned to his Dad and asked, "Anything from Uncle Johnny yet?"

Reed shook his head and shot a glance at Sue, who when hearing Franklin's question turned down to look at the papers she was working on.

"If you guys are worried, why don't you call him?" Reed questioned.

"We've tried. He doesn't pick up and his answering machine isn't on. What if something's wrong?" Franklin explained.

"I think you two are being a little paranoid. Johnny will call when he calls, okay?" Reed told him. Franklin just turned around and shuffled out of the room. As soon as his son was gone, he turned to his wife, concern in his eyes.

"It is a little odd, isn't it?" Reed asked. Sue looked up at him, confusion all over her face.

"I mean, when does Johnny not answer? He usually always does, just in case it's an emergency. And he always keeps his answering machine on." Reed clarified.

"Personally, I think he's being over dramatic." Sue replied.

"You're really angry at him aren't you?"

"He started a fire that almost killed someone Reed."

"But what if it wasn't him, or it actually was an accident? Because to me, Johnny wasn't anywhere near the fire when it started, and Ben saw Johnny's face. He said that he looked terrified when he saw the fire."

"I don't know Reed. He's been so distant the last few weeks. Then he messes up big time on the job. I just want to know what's going on with him."

"I think I know." The two adults looked to the door where Franklin stood. Neither of them had even heard him come back in.

FANTASTICFOUR

 _On the ground I lay, motionless in pain, I can see my life flashing before my eyes_

When Johnny woke up, he quickly realized that he was not at home. He was lying in a reclined chair that reminded him of a dentist chair. Leather straps restrained his wrists and ankles to the chair. When he tried moving a sharp pain appeared in his side. He looked down and saw a piece of cloth taped with duct tape onto his shirt on his lower stomach. That's when the memories came flooding back, Victor in his apartment, the lightning hitting him, the knife in his gut.

"Finally awake I see." Johnny slowly turned his head to see Victor entering the room, a syringe in his hand, "The sedative took a while to wear off considering how your body temperature should've burned it off in a matter of hours, not days. Then again, that's probably due to the IV." At that, Johnny looked up to see an IV bag hanging beside the chair, the tube going into his right hand.

"It's a power suppressor made especially for your DNA. So don't get any ideas on trying anything, especially since not only would it hurt trying because it's made to fight against your body if you do, but that wound will probably get worse if you move around. And if you think that your team will save you, think again. They don't even know you're missing, not even you're sister. Guess you're not as important as you think you are. So you might has well get comfortable kid, you're gonna be here a while."

With that, Victor stabbed the needle into Johnny's arm and began to draw his blood.

FANTASTICFOUR

 _Funny how the heart can be deceiving, more than just a couple times_

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Reed asked pacing in front of Franklin who was sitting on the couch looking down at his hand while Sue stood by his side, guilt and concern written all over her face.

"Uncle Johnny was sure that it wasn't actually him, but I couldn't stop thinking that if it wasn't him, who could it have been? And then when I heard you guys talking just now, I knew I was right, it wasn't his fault. You know how unpredictable his powers can be, and if they're getting stronger it makes it worse." Franklin reasoned.

"We should get a hold of Jim. He has this power and knows how to control it. Maybe he can teach Johnny?" Sue suggested, trying to be helpful. When Franklin told them what had happened, Sue felt nothing but guilt, guilt that Johnny felt like he couldn't confide in her, guilt of how she had gotten so mad at him and guilt over how she'd been acting the last two days.

"That's a good idea. I'll give him a call. Sue, you should go find Ben, tell him what Franklin told us. Then you guys should go find Johnny. We all need to talk to him." Sue nodded and left the room.

"It's gonna be okay son." Reed told Franklin, who hadn't moved from his spot. The child nodded, hearing his father's words but continued to stare at his hands. Reed's face filled with concern. He knew how close Franklin and Johnny were, and while Johnny asked Franklin to keep what had happened a secret, they had to know what was going on. Hopefully soon, Franklin will see that he was right to tell them.

FANTASTICFOUR

 _Did I fall asleep, is this all a dream, wake me up, I'm living a nightmare_

"Why are you doing this? What do you want?" Johnny asked, watching Victor with the blood Victor had taken from him. He had only taken a vial of it, and then placed it in one of the many machines on the other side of the room. However, Johnny had no idea what exactly Victor was doing with it. Victor turned around and came over to the chair.

"Well Johnny, it was just an idea at first, an idea that was constantly in the back of my mind. And when you and your team stopped me again a couple of weeks ago, that idea became on objective. You see, I've noticed that when you are fully engulfed in flames, you're practically invincible to any attack that is thrown at you, bullets, knifes, fists. None of those can touch the flames that protect you. I have great power, but to be protected by fire, now that's something that would be far more effective than my robots. And your blood is the key to achieving that." Victor explained, looking very smug, before turning around and left the room.

Johnny struggled against the straps that held him down. He had to get out. He didn't know how long he thrashed around on the chair before he stopped, but when he finally did, his wrists were sore and bleeding and his wound felt like someone had stabbed it again. He relaxed onto the chair and closed his eyes, he was so very tired. That's when he felt it, the heat, the burning coming back into his core, into his blood. He could also feel the power suppressor trying to stop it, but it had no effect. His powers were coming back, it was only a matter of time.

FANTASTICFOUR

 _Ever worry that it might be ruined, and does it make you wanna cry?_

Sue didn't say a word to Ben the entire trip to Johnny's apartment. Ben was getting a little worried about her, though he knew the reason for her silence. Now that they knew what was going on with Johnny, he too was feeling guilty over the way they ganged up on the kid. However, he could tell Sue was feeling way worse than he was which wasn't surprising. Johnny and Sue had always been close, Sue had practically raised the boy ever since their mother died.

"You know, it's not our fault." Ben told her as they walked up the stairs to Johnny's apartment.

"What do you mean?" Sue asked, confused by Ben's statement. How could it not be their fault, they're the ones who pushed him out the door.

"We didn't know what was going on with the kid. I mean, yeah, what we did was wrong, but what made it worse was that Johnny didn't tell us. How can we blame ourselves for something we did if we didn't know the whole story?"

"But that's just it Ben. I could tell something was up with him, but I didn't ask, I didn't check with him, or even try to figure out what was going on. And, I don't know why, but he didn't come to me. He always comes to me for help. I just don't get it." Sue replied as she walked up the final flight of stairs.

"Well, the kid's not exactly an idiot Susie. I have a feeling that you could've pushed him to the point of threatening him with your powers and he still would've tried to play it cool. That's the thing about Johnny, he doesn't want you to know, he won't tell and he won't give you the chance to figure it out for yourself." Ben told her as the made their way to the door.

"Great, now I wonder what else he has hidden from me." Sue said as she knocked on the door. However, the minute her fist hit the wood, the door swung open.

"That's never a good sign." Ben commented as they both cautiously entered the apartment. Sue was stunned at the sight of all the scorch marks, Johnny really wasn't in control of this new power.

"Where is he?" Sue wondered, concern bubbling up inside of her.

"Sue." Sue went over to where Ben was and saw what he was looking at. Fear replaced concern and threatened to overwhelm her. The wall and floor by the couch were cover in scorch marks, not from fire but from lightning. They had seen enough marks from both fire and lightning to tell the difference. And on the ground, was a bloody knife sitting beside a small pool of dried blood.

FANTASTICFOUR

 _Where there is desire there is gonna be a flame, where there is a flame someone's bound to get burned_

"Thank you for coming Jim, please have a seat." Reed said as he sat down on the couch in the living room across from the couch where Jim sat.

"So, you believe that Jonathan's powers are, evolving?" Jim questioned.

"Yes I do. A couple of weeks ago, Victor Doom, kidnapped Franklin and my wife, Ben and Johnny went to rescue him. I couldn't go with them, I was injured. Ever since then, Johnny had been strangely distant to us. Then a couple of days ago while we were helping out at a collapsed building, a fire started and Johnny seemed to know exactly how and why it happened but didn't tell us and insisted that it wasn't his fault. After that, he left. Then today, Franklin came and told Sue and I that the same thing had happened during his rescue." Reed explained.

"Well, I have always wondered if and when abilities like that would appear in Jonathan." Jim replied.

"So it is possible, for Johnny to do this, and not have any control over it?" Reed asked.

"Oh yes of course. The thing is about Jonathan's and my powers, is that a lot of it has to do with keeping our emotions in check. Our powers respond to how we feel, and since Johnathan can be, um," Jim paused, wondering how to say it nicely, "temperamental, it makes it that much harder to control. And having a new power which also responds to that can make it near impossible."

"Do you think you could help him with this new ability, that you could teach him how to use and control it?"

"I could try, but it could take a while. Jonathan and I are very different and have different methods of keeping it in control." Jim told Reed. Reed nodded and was about to reply but the ringing of his phone cut him off.

"Sorry, one moment." Reed said holding the phone to his ear, "Hey Sue what's up?" Reed listened for a minute, and then all the color washed away from his face.

FANTASTICFOUR

 _I will not die, I will survive_

Johnny laid still, though it was practically impossible. The heat that he felt made him anxious to move but he had to stay still. He had to save the heat and energy to escape. When it got to the point of unbearable, that's when he put all of his focus on the leather strap that help down his right hand. However, the effect of the power suppressor was immediate. It felt like the breath, the life was being drained from his body. It hurt so much that he instantly stopped.

If he was going to do this, he was going to need a much easier target, one that wouldn't take too long to burn. Then Johnny saw the IV in his hand. If he could destroy the IV bag, the fire would follow the tube down to his hand, instantly setting himself on fire. Unless of course, the fluid put the fire out before it could do anything, but at the moment Johnny had no other ideas. Trying to flame on was too hard, especially with the wound in his stomach. So Johnny took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused everything on the IV bag.

He didn't stop until he felt the flame touch his hand. The second it did, he was covered in them, and easily burned off the leather straps. He pulled himself off the chair and almost fell to the floor. He flamed off and clutched his stomach. Johnny had thought the hard part would be getting free from the chair. He was wrong.

Johnny got back on his feet, arm still over his stomach, and began walking. He walked through door after door. His head was pounding, his legs shaking and his stomach throbbing. If he wasn't injured, if he didn't have a power suppressor in his system, he would've heard Victor coming down the hall. But he didn't, and the minute Victor saw him, lightning was fired at him and all went black.

 _I will not die, I'll wait here for you, in my time of dying_


	4. Bring me Back to Life

The songs in this chapter are Hearts Under Fire by Lea Luna and Bring Me Back to Life by Extreme Music. Enjoy

 **Chapter 3**

 _Bring Me Back to Life_

 _I did my part, I tried my best, the things I'm fighting to protect, always shatter into pieces in the end_

Johnny opened his eyes and looked around. He was back in the chair, the IV back in his hand, but instead of leather restraints holding him down, it was metal handcuffs. Johnny turned his head, slowly and painfully towards the door when he heard it open.

"That was not very smart Torch. Then again, you always were the idiot of the group, weren't you?" Victor said as he made his way over to the chair. He leaned over Johnny's head and continued, "I don't know how you escaped but let me assure you, you will never get another chance."

Victor held up a syringe filled with liquid and plunged into Johnny's neck. Everything went blurry, Johnny only had one thought in his head has everything faded to darkness, _I'm sorry Sue._

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _Run for cover, we are, hearts under fire, and we're going under if we can't be at peace_

Sue punched through the door using her force fields, and ran inside. Reed, Ben and Jim followed.

"Sue, we want to find him too, but can you please be quieter. We have no idea what could be going on. For all we know this is a trap." Reed told his wife. Sue turned to him in anger.

"For all we know, Johnny could be dead Reed. I need to find him." Sue replied, as she headed down the hall. Reed, Ben and Jim followed, keeping an eye out for any sign of a trap, or Johnny.

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _I'm up in blood, abundant dry, my heart's been beating all this time, to help this broken body live another night_

Johnny, despite his exhaustion, pried his eyes open again, wondering what had awoken him in the first place. That's when he clearly heard the loud, shrilling beep. He looked to his left and saw Victor leaning over a computer screen, muttering to himself.

"No, no. This can't be happening." Victor exclaimed.

"Something wrong Victor?" Johnny asked sarcastically. Victor turned around, clearly not expecting Johnny to be awake. He grabbed the syringe on the table, filled it with same liquid as before, and walked over to him.

"Nothing that you need to concern yourself with." Victor answered, stabbing the needle into his neck again. Everything went blurry again and Johnny closed his eyes. _A sedative,_ Johnny realized. However, this time he didn't feel himself fall asleep, he felt himself burning.

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _Pull the trigger, we are, hearts under fire, and we hold our grudges if we can't just release_

Sue used her powers to fling three Doom bots into the wall while Reed, Ben and Jim took care of the rest.

"If Victor has sent his Doom bots, we must be getting close." Reed observed.

"But where is he? There are so many rooms, and we don't know for sure if Johnny is actually here or if this is just a wild goose chase." Ben pointed out, looking at the hallways that split off into different directions.

"He IS here! Okay? He has to be." Sue told them. Reed watched in concern. Sue was driving herself into the ground trying to find her brother. They had tried four other locations before they found this one and each time, Sue's hopes fell farther and farther. Reed knew that Sue wouldn't be able to handle it again.

"Come on, the longer we just wait around the longer Johnny is with Victor and he's doing who knows what with him. We've got to find him." Sue said as she went down the hall to the left, her team right behind her.

Not long after, they heard the shrill beep. Any adrenaline they had left from the fight with the Doom bots went to making them run faster to the door hiding whatever was making the loud noise. When Ben busted down the door, Sue froze in fear.

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _Battle cry, is the damage done? Who has lost and who has won? Who will be there when my life support is gone?_

Johnny wanted to scream. The suppressor in his system was fighting as hard as it could against the fire that was doing everything it could to rise back to the surface. He wondered if this was how fire felt like to normal people. Johnny himself had forgotten what fire was like before he got his powers. He was pulled from his train of thought when he heard Victor complain, mutter and practically scream in frustration.

"They can't be here. How on earth did they find this place?" Victor exclaimed in anger. _Wait, they? Here? Had Reed, Ben and Sue found him?_ His question was answered when he heard the door crashed open.

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _I'm breathing in, and breaking down, I feel my time is running out, the fire in my heart will burn me to the ground_

"JOHNNY!" Sue cried running towards her brother. She could hear Reed and Ben going after Victor and while Jim followed her to the young man lying helplessly in a reclined chair, injured and tied down. She looked down at her little brother, sweat plastered his blonde hair to his forehead, his face pale, and blood covered his stomach. When Sue saw the makeshift bandage covering what she knew to be a stab wound, she wanted to snap Victor's neck. It was Johnny's voice that kept her in place.

"Sue?" His weak voice croaked, his blue eyes opening slowly and immediately found hers. Sue leaned over him, placing both hands on his cheeks.

"It's okay little brother. I'm here, I'm here. Everything's going to be okay." Sue assured him, trying to reassure herself in the process.

"Jonathan, please stay still. We will free you but you must not move, you could aggravate your wound further." Johnny turned his head towards Jim when he heard him. He didn't even notice Jim was there. He wanted to tell him about the fire, about the ever present and painful burning that he was feeling. If anyone was to understand fire it was Jim, but Johnny was so tired, and hurt too much to even open his mouth.

Sue used her force fields to destroy the handcuffs keeping him to the chair while Jim pulled out the IV. As soon as Johnny was free, Reed and Ben joined them.

"What happened to Victor?" Sue questioned.

"He got away, how's Johnny doing? Oh, not to good. I'm just going to take a quick look at the wound." Reed told them, pulling the clothe bandage away. What he saw made his face go pale. It was clear that the wound was infected and very badly so.

"We need to get him out of here. Sue, Jim, grab him." Reed ordered them, getting out of the way. Sue and Jim slipped Johnny's arms around their shoulders and pulled him out of the chair. Johnny groaned in protest. The fire in his body was unbearable. It was as if he was trapped in a furnace, on fire, the heat at supernova level. Johnny tried to move his legs to somewhat support himself but somehow, the pain actually increased. So he threw his pride to the wind and screamed, his body tensing up and letting Sue and Jim take all his weight. Sue and Jim laid him down on the ground, but the pain continued to increase. Johnny found himself wishing that he would go into shock, or pass out, anything to make the pain go away, even if just for a moment.

"Johnny what's wrong?" Sue asked, concern and fear evident on her face, her hand squeezing his.

"Fire. It's burning. It won't stop. Please make it stop." Johnny cried. Jim, in response, placed his hand over Johnny's chest and closed his eyes.

Jim had no idea if it would work, but he knew how to control fire and heat. If Johnny was indeed feeling as though he was on fire, maybe Jim could use his powers to control it and make it die down. It didn't take long to find the heat, it seemed to be traveling through the boy's bloodstream. Jim followed the heat back to its source, Jonathan's core. The minute Jim touched it, he felt it. And it took every bit of control to not scream and jump away from the boy. That itself shocked Jim, and he was only feeling what he wanted to feel as it was not his body nor his core. No wonder the young Torch was in so much pain. Jim let his powers flow into Jonathan and wrapped around the heat, forcing it to cease.

After a few moments Johnny's face, a mask of pain, slowly relaxed, his tense body loosening and he let out a small sigh of relief. Jim opened his eyes and saw that it had worked. Jim himself sighed in relief. Controlling the fire was harder than he thought, though Johnathan always was a spitfire and they still had no idea what Victor Doom had been doing to him or what was in the IV Victor had injected into his hand.

"We got to get him out of here." Jim told them. This time, Ben slipped his arms under the kid's legs and shoulders, lifted him up and carried him out to the fantastic car with Reed, Sue, and Jim making sure that Victor or any Doom bots didn't make an appearance.

 _I'm broken and I'm barely breathing, I'm falling cause my heart stopped beating, if this is how it all goes down tonight, if this is how you bring me back to life_


	5. The Longest Night

**Disclaimer** \- Still own nothing. The song used is called The Longest Night by Howie Day. Enjoy and please review.

 **Chapter 4**

 _The Longest Night_

 _Is it dark, where you are? Can you count the stars where you are? Do you feel like you are a thousand miles from home?_

Sue sat beside her brother's unconscious form for four days. When they had gotten him to the infirmary, there had been a mad scramble to get his wound cleaned, IV filled with antibiotics inserted, and to keep the kids away from the area. While Franklin and Valeria wanted to see their uncle, Sue did not want them to him so weak, hooked to IV's and monitors, with a nasal canal running across his face, it would scare them. Especially since Johnny hadn't woken up at all since they found him at the old warehouse Victor had kept him in.

Reed had found that the IV that Victor had put in was actually a power suppressor and that the fire that Johnny had been feeling was his body trying to burn it off. It didn't help with the fact that it seemed like Johnny's powers were evolving and that the stab wound had gotten infected. Over the course of the last few days, Johnny's fever had gotten so high and his powers so out of control that in his delirium he would catch fire, as well as start random fires all throughout the lab. Luckily, Jim had decided to stick around and help.

Sue was exhausted. Ever since Reed had managed to stabilize Johnny, she hadn't left his side except for short visits to the bathroom. She continued to sit by her brother's side holding his hand, insisting that she had to be there when he woke up. She had to see for herself that he was getting better and talk to him, anything to get the awful screams he had made out of her head. However, it was taking a toll on the Invisible Woman. Sue could feel her body beginning to slouch and her eyelids starting to droop, but all traces of exhaustion vanished when she heard a small, pain filled moan.

The older Storm sat up and looked over at her little brother. She could feel his hand twitching in hers and saw his eyelids fluttering. Sue brought up her free hand and gently ran it through Johnny's hair, pushing the loose strands away from his face. Slowly, Johnny's blue eyes opened, and quickly found hers, as if he knew that she would be here.

"Sue?" Johnny's voice was weak and rough, but it brought tears to Sue's eyes nonetheless.

"Shh, it's okay Johnny. I'm right here, everything's going to okay." Sue told him, squeezing his hand and gave him a kiss on his forehead, "Everything's going to be okay."

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _Did we go too far to find, what is waiting here? We'll take a little time, to open up again_

Ben was sitting on the couch in the living room watch Alicia play with Franklin and Val when he saw Reed walk in.

"How's the kid?" Ben asked, turning his head to look at Reed. Reed looked exhausted; he had been up just as much as Sue had doing tests on Johnny and making sure the Torch was getting better.

"Well, it looks like the infection is finally disappearing and his fever's going down." Reed answered, coming to a stop beside Ben.

"That's good."

"Yeah. How are they doing?" Reed asked looking over at his kids.

"They're worried, and still angry that you and Sue won't let them see Johnny." Ben replied.

"We will, as soon as he gets better. We don't want to scare them." Reed explained.

"I think they're pretty scared now. They think that you two won't let them see him because he's dying. Maybe if they saw him, they'll calm down." Ben suggested.

"With all the equipment we got him hooked up to? Not a chance. Do you know where Jim is?" Reed changed the subject, not wanting to discuss the topic any further.

"He's out helping Steve with something, said he'd be back soon." Ben informed him, looking back at the kids.

"Okay, I'm going to go do another check on Johnny. Do you know if Sue's had anything to eat yet?"

"What do you think?"

"Great. She keeps this up, we'll be two team members down." Reed muttered to himself as he left the room.

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _Are you lost, where you are? Can you find your way when you're so far? Do you fear, where you are? A thousand nights alone_

Sue tossed and turned in her bed. No matter what position she laid in she could not comfortable. She glanced over at the clock, 12:30. Sue desperately wanted to be down in the infirmary with Johnny, but Reed promised that he would keep an eye on him if she would try to get some sleep. Then she realised what Reed had said. _'Try to get some rest. You need it.'_ Key word _'try'_ , which she had. So she pulled herself out of bed and left the room.

As she walked down the hall, she paused when should heard several loud whimpers. Concerned, she followed the sound to outside Franklin's door. Sue opened it, and sure enough, Franklin was thrashing and whimpering in his bed. The mother ran into the room and started to shake him by his shoulder, hoping to wake him up.

"Franklin. Franklin honey, wake up." Sue called out. The young boy opened his eyes and shot up in his bed, tears running down his face.

"It's okay sweetie. It was just a dream." Sue comforted, wrapping her arms around his shaking shoulders. Franklin in turn wrapped his arms around her waist and cried.

"It's okay Franklin. It's okay." Sue repeated those words until Franklin's sobs slowed and his shoulders ceased their shaking.

"Mom?"

"Yeah honey?"

"I wanna see Uncle Johnny." Sue pulled away and looked down at her son's tearstained face.

"I know you and Dad keep saying that he's okay but is in rough shape, and you want to wait until he's better before you'll let us see him. It's just, I need to see with my own eyes." Franklin explained. Sue couldn't get angry at him for that, she had been doing the exact same thing.

"He's been sleeping a lot, and when he is awake, he's not really aware of anything. He's still pretty sick and is hooked up to a lot of machines,"

"I don't care." Franklin interrupted.

"Okay."

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _Can we go too far to find, what is waiting here? A little fall from grace, on the longest night_

Reed looked up from his papers on his desk over to Johnny, asleep on the bed a few feet away from him. He was getting better, but Reed was worried with his level of awareness. The Torch slept a lot and whenever he did manage to open his eyes, it was never more than a few minutes. It is normal for that to happen to anyone who was as sick as Johnny to sleep for long periods of time, it was the body's way of conserving energy to fight off the infection and disease. However, seeing his brother-in-law lying so still and so sick unnerved him.

He looked down at the medical charts and test results on the desk. He had taken these test a few hours ago and sure enough, Johnny's infection was disappearing, the antibiotics were working. Johnny's fever had gone down from 104 to 101.3. The only thing that really worried him was Johnny's powers.

While he was doing the tests, he took a look at Johnny's molecules. The Torch's powers were indeed evolving. What surprised him was how these newly evolved cells were more sensitive that before, which is probably why Johnny was having such a hard time controlling them. For the first time, Reed wondered what it would be like to be Johnny, to have all that power at your fingertips knowing that if you lose control for even a second, someone could get hurt. Maybe that's why he always teamed up with Ben, so if he lost control Ben wouldn't get hurt by it.

The sound of the door opening broke Reed out of his reverie. He looked up and saw Sue, which didn't surprise him, but his son, holding her hand following close behind surely did. Reed looked up at Sue, wondering if it was a good idea to let Franklin in here, but relented when Sue nodded.

"Come on in." Reed invited. Sue came over to Reed while Franklin came slowly into the room, looking for his uncle.

"How's he doing?" Sue asked, stopping beside her husband.

"Sleeping soundly." Reed replied, then looked over at Franklin who had finally spotted his uncle. He stood frozen, staring at the still form on the bed. Sue went over to her son and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"It may not seem like it, but he's going to be okay." Sue told him. Franklin said nothing, but walked over to the bed, with Sue following.

While Sue pulled up Johnny's blanket, and brushed his blonde hair away from his face, Franklin stood still. He had never seen his uncle so still and so helpless. It wasn't like Johnny at all. His uncle was always smiling, cracking jokes, always on the move. He was never so still. Franklin was pulled away from his thoughts when a voice called out to him.

"Hey Squirt." Franklin looked up at the sound of Johnny's voice, his blue eyes watching his nephew. His voice was tried and rough, his smile small, his eyelids droopy, but it was still his Uncle Johnny. Franklin smiled at him and grabbed his uncle's hand.

"Don't you worry Squirt. It'll be okay." Johnny said, giving his nephew's hand a small squeeze before loosening his hold and letting his eyelids fall. Franklin crawled onto the bed, keeping a hold on his uncle's hand. He was glad his mom let him see Johnny. Sure the machines and the still form of his uncle had startled him, but it was worth hearing Uncle Johnny himself say that he was going to be alright. Franklin stayed with him until well after morning.

 _You and I, caught in a fading light, on the longest night_


	6. Icarus

**Chapter Five**

 _Icarus_

 _Look who's digging their own grave, that is what they all say, you'll drink yourself to death_

"Are you even trying Jonathan?" Jim asked as he watched the young man sit down on the stairs across from him.

"I told you Jim, I have no control over this." Johnny replied, running a hand through his hair.

"That is what we trying to accomplish. Once we figure out what triggers your new powers, we'll be able to help you learn how to control it." Jim explained. Johnny shrugged, then brought up a hand to his stomach, right where his wound was.

It had been nearly three weeks since Johnny had been found, and one week since they actually let him out of the infirmary. Considering how much Sue had and still was hovering over him he was surprised Sue was letting him and Jim try to figure out Johnny's new powers instead of resting while he healed. The stab wound was still very sore and Johnny couldn't do much before the pain stopped him.

"Yeah well, this doesn't seem to be helping either. I'm going to get something to eat," Johnny said, slowly standing up, "pick this up later?"

Jim wanted to push him, he knew Jonathan was still holding back, though he didn't know if he was doing it on purpose or not. Then again, the young Storm was still healing, and he knew that he shouldn't push him too hard or it could make his injuries worse. So Jim nodded and watched the young man leave the room.

"That went well I see." Jim looked up and there was Reed coming down the stairs holding a large stack of papers.

"Probably as well as we expected." Jim answered

"Take a look at this."

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _Living beyond your years, acting out all their fears, you feel it in your chest_

Johnny walked into the kitchen to see that Sue was already in the room, stirring something in a pot. She looked up and smiled when she saw him.

"Hey. Finished already?" Sue asked as Johnny came over to her.

"Gonna pick it up later. Nothing seemed to be working and I was getting a little sore." Johnny knew that the minute Sue heard that, she would tell him, Jim and Reed, who was also curious about his 'new power' to slow down and take it easy, little did she know that was exactly what he wanted.

"Well, it's good that you finally seem to know when to stop and to not go too fast. Are you feeling okay?" She asked, turning to look at him.

"Yeah I'm fine, just needed a break. What are you making?" Johnny asked, looking down at the pot. While he knew that Sue would make Jim and Reed stop putting so much pressure on him to use his new ability, he didn't want her going completely mother hen on him again. There was only so much of that he could take.

"Making some spaghetti and meat sauce. Alicia's idea." Sue answered, knowing the reason as to why her brother suddenly changed the subject, but allowed him to do so.

"Alicia's coming over?" Johnny asked as he made his way to the table and sat down.

"Yup, Ben's bringing her." Sue told him, turning back to the pot of spaghetti.

"Sounds like fun." Johnny said. He wondered if Sue caught the sarcasm in his voice. Probably, but she didn't say anything. He was getting fed up with the team already treating him like he was a child, and having Jim try to get him to start fire by just willing it, he didn't need another person keeping an eye on him. _Then again, I guess Alicia can't really 'keep an eye' on me_ Johnny thought with a smile. Dinner with everyone might not be so bad.

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _Your hands protect the flames, from the wild winds around you_

"And you're sure about this?" Jim asked, his brain trying to process what Reed was telling him. He looked down at the papers Reed had handed him again.

"Yes I am. All these tests are showing me that this new ability of Johnny's is actually more sensitive than most, not to mention what happened while he was sick and that every piece of furniture in his apartment shows signs of being on fire. He shouldn't be having a hard time using this power. If anything, he should be having a hard time not using it." Reed responded.

"Now the question is, why is he not using it or even seem to be acknowledging it?" Jim stated, looking over at the scientist.

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _Icarus is flying too close to the sun, and Icarus's life, it has only just begun_

Despite Alicia's first two questions being 'How are you doing Johnny?' and 'Are you sure you're feeling better?' when she arrived, dinner went very smoothly. That is, it was going rather smoothly until they went back into the living room and Reed mentioned to Alicia about his new power and how Johnny hadn't been able to use it again yet.

"Really? Nothing?" Alicia's surprised voice was quiet, but so was everyone else, all wanting to hear what Reed had to say.

"Nope, nothing. It's strange, considering all the tests I've run, it should be easier to use than Johnny's other powers." Reed said, staring at Johnny. Before dinner, when Johnny was up in his room, the one that used whenever he stayed at the Baxter Building, Reed and Jim had told Sue, Ben and Alicia about their findings. While this was not the best way to confront Johnny about it, it was the only way that they could ensure that Johnny couldn't shrug it off or just run off.

"I told you Reed, I don't know how to use it. And I don't know how it works or how to trigger it." Johnny was starting to see where this was going. And suffice to say, he didn't like it.

"I'm just saying that it's a little strange at how before you couldn't get it to stop; now you can't get it to start." Reed stated. He knew he was pushing a nerve, but it needed to be pushed. They needed to know what was going on.

"You're not the only one who thinks so." Johnny told him, his defenses rising more and more with each passing second. It rose even more when he saw Ben standing in front of the door leading to the elevators, Jim in front of the door leading to the hotel stairs, and Sue standing by the stairs that led upstairs. They were all blocking his exits, they were ganging up on him. Johnny's breathing quickened when he saw the Alicia, Franklin, and Valeria were still in the room, seeming unaware of what was going on.

"Don't you think we can discuss this later?" Johnny suggested, though he knew it was pointless. Once the majority of the team made a decision, even if it was a stupid a** decision, it was almost impossible to change their minds.

"No, I think we should discuss it now." Reed said, taking a step towards the younger man.

"Well, I think we should talk about it later." Johnny replied, taking a step back away from the scientist. Reed kept walking towards Johnny though, and Johnny began to feel the heat start running through his body. He needed Reed to back off.

"I agree with Uncle Johnny." Everyone turned to look at Franklin, who was standing beside his sister and Alicia. It seemed to Johnny that everyone had thought that they had left the room already.

Franklin and Val weren't idiots, Val was actually smarter than their Dad at times, they both knew what their parents and the others were doing and knew it wasn't a good idea. Reed though, turned back to Johnny and took another step towards the young Torch. That's when everything went to h*ll.

Fires started everywhere randomly in the room, one by Ben, one by Jim, and more kept starting, but the largest started between Reed and Johnny creating a barrier between the two.

"AH!" Franklin's scream caught everyone's attention. Right in front of the young boy, who was standing in front of Alicia and Valeria, was another fire. The boy fell on the ground trying to back away from the fire, clutching his left wrist with his right hand and holding it close, tears streaming down his face.

"Oh my ***." Read said as he ran towards his son, Sue right behind him using her force fields to get through flames. Johnny stared helplessly at his nephew unaware that Jim was putting out the fires the he had started. He didn't realize that Ben had come over to him until he felt his rocky hand rest on his shoulder.

"It's okay Matchstick." Ben's gruff voice assured him, but Johnny shook his head and took off running up the stairs that Sue and been previously guarding.

"Kid!" Ben yelled, causing Sue to look up from her son to her fleeing brother.

"Johnny!" Sue called out, but her brother didn't stop and disappeared from view.

"It's not his fault." Franklin told her, his tears slowing down.

"I know. I know." Sue responded, wrapping her arms around her oldest. Of all the things they had expected to happen tonight, this certainly wasn't one of them.

 _This is how it feels to take a fall, Icarus is flying towards an early grave_


	7. Reignite

**Disclaimer -** I own nothing. The song used is Reignite by Malukah. Enjoy.

 **Chapter Six**

 _Reignite_

 _Hope can drown, lost in thunderous sound, and fear can claim, what little faith remains_

Johnny sat on the roof, his back leaning against the railing, the sounds of traffic filling the air. While most people thought them to be the most annoying noise on Earth, Johnny found them comforting. It was the only type of normalcy that he had in his life in the last few weeks. Despite his powers going crazy, getting kidnapped, the still healing wound and the pity and concern look in his family's eyes, the sounds of cars racing by, car horns being pushed by frustrated drivers remained the same. Johnny wished he was on the roof of his own apartment building, but he couldn't leave, not until he knew that his nephew was okay.

Johnny looked up at the sound of the door opening. Sometimes it pays for doors to have squeaky hinges. Sue came through, looked around before spotting him against the railing to the side. She shut the door, came over and sat down in front of him. Johnny looked down at his knees, at his hands, up at the sky, anywhere besides his sister's face. He knew that now that the others were aware of his powers evolution, had seen the effects of it, they will be treating him like a shard of glass, thinking him breakable and his feelings clear. He didn't want their pity or their concern. That was part of the reason he kept it a secret for so long.

"Are you okay?" Sue asked, her voice filled with the concern he knew so well. Johnny said nothing, he didn't want to talk. He was only sticking around to make sure Franklin was okay. The minute he knew that the kid was fine, he was leaving, going back to his apartment and locking himself in for however long he wanted.

"Franklin's going to be okay Johnny. It barely even classifies as a first degree burn. And we know it wasn't your fault." Sue told him, her voice gaining confidence, knowing that it was what Johnny wanted to hear, and it was the truth which should also make him feel better but that wasn't what Johnny wanted to hear for once.

He wanted her to yell at him, blame him, and get mad at him for what happened. He didn't want her pity or assurance. It might have been all fine now, but he knew it wouldn't be for long. Sooner or later, he would lose control once again, and he wouldn't be able to stop it. The others were right, he was a ticking time bomb.

"Johnny, it's okay. We'll figure this out." Sue said more urgently. She leaned forward and placed her hand over his, and that's when Johnny finally stood up and walked over to the other end of the roof. He placed his hands on the rail and let his head fall against his chest.

Sue still crouching on her knees, stood up but made no move to follow her brother. She stood silently, watching him stand by the railing, looking as though he had been carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders and was absolutely exhausted by the heaviness, as though it was about to crush him. What made it worse, was that she had no idea what to do in order to help him.

Growing up, it was like she could read his mind, always knowing what he needed or what he wanted, she could always help him. Not now though. In the last few years, he had changed, they both had. Sue didn't know how to help him this time, because she no longer knew what he was thinking or feeling.

"Talk to me Johnny. Just talk to me, please." Sue pleaded as she took a few steps closer to her brother, but stayed further back than she liked. If there was one thing she did know about Johnny, he did not like having her hover all around him though she really wanted to and she was probably pushing it already.

"I hurt my nephew." His voice was so quiet Sue hardly heard it at all. She took another step closer.

"Johnny, Franklin's okay. He's actually probably more worried about you right now." Sue told him.

"That's not the point!" Johnny blurted out, finally turning around to face her. That's when Sue saw the single teardrop making its way down her brother's cheek. The sight alone made her want to cry.

"Then what is the point?" Sue asked, cautiously taking another step closer. She so badly wanted to just run up to him, hug him with all her might then put him in one of her invincible bubbles and keep him safe from the rest of the world. However, she knew that Johnny would just push her away if she tried. If she and the rest of the team were going to help him, it would have to be at his pace.

"If I could lose control enough that I could hurt Franklin, then what's to stop it from hurting someone else, what's to stop it from killing someone? What's to stop it from hurting you?" Johnny looked back down at his feet, finally saying what he had been thinking since this whole mess started. The Torch didn't look back up at his sister, not even when he heard her coming closer towards him.

The minute Johnny stopped talking, Sue decided to screw keeping her distance. She went up to her brother, placed her hands on his cheeks and forced him to look at her face. Sue felt her own eyes get wet when saw the tears pooling in her baby brother's.

"That was why you didn't tell any of us, isn't it?" Sue didn't need to see him nod to know that she was right.

"Johnny, it may not seem like it, but it's going to be okay. You somehow developed this new power for a reason. If you can develop it, you can control it. You learned how to control your power when you first got it faster than any of us. You can control this new one too." Sue smiled at him, trying to get him to believe her but what he said next was something she never thought he'd ever say.

"Right now I wish I didn't have any powers."

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _But I carry strength from souls now gone, they won't let me give in_

Sue hugged her brother, feeling his entire body tremble as tears fell from his cheeks and onto her shoulder. Sue had never thought that Johnny's powers would be too much for him. He sailed through them just like he did his life, as easily as swimming in a lap pool. Getting to where he wanted with little to no resistance. She hadn't seen how fearful of his powers he truly was. From the beginning he took it all in a confident stride.

How scared he must've been to actually admit it, had he been scared the whole time, ever since the day they realised the storm gave them their power? Sue held him tighter, never wanting to let him go and feeling ten times guiltier when his own arms tightened in response.

Johnny didn't want to let go either. He felt as though his sister's arms where the only thing that was keeping him from completely falling to pieces. He needed her right now. If he was being honest, he always needed her, from the start. He should've went to her the minute he knew his powers were evolving. If he had, maybe none of this would've happened. Maybe he would know how to control his new ability. Slowly, his tears stopped.

All too soon, Sue pulled away from the embrace. She placed her soft fingers on his wet cheek, smiling at him, tears trailing down her own face.

"Johnny, did you hear what Reed said downstairs? Before the fire started?" Sue asked, letting her hand fall from his cheek and onto his shoulder, "He said that this power is more sensitive, much more than your other powers. The fact that ever since you've woken up you haven't used it, even by accident until now, shows how much control you actually have. You were so scared you'd hurt someone before that you kept yourself in your apartment, not really doing much about it. But ever since your fever broke a couple of weeks ago, you kept a handle on it so no one would get hurt because you were here, with us. You only lost control because you felt ganged up on." Sue paused, making sure that Johnny was listening to her.

"And while that was not a good way to get you to use your powers, you did. Johnny, there may have been times where it seems you are a walking fire hazard. Pardon the pun," Sue smiled though when she saw the corner of Johnny's lips turn upwards, "but you have never let us down. You always pull yourself together, use your powers, as destructive as they may seem at times, and used them to help us, and help save everyone on this planet. This power developed because you were saving Franklin. Johnny, we trust you. We always have. If we didn't, Reed would've locked you up and tried to take away your powers. You can control this, I know you can."

Johnny looked up at his sister, looking for any evidence that she was lying, that she was just trying to make him feel better but he found none. Sue was smiling earnestly, squeezing his shoulder, her eyes shining. Sue reached up and wrapped her arms around him again before pulling away and giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Stop worrying okay. Everything's going to be okay. Come down when you're ready, but keep your cell on, okay?" Johnny nodded and Sue headed back towards the door, but before she headed back downstairs, she turned around to face him and said, "I love you."

"Love you too." Johnny replied and watched her head down the stairs, leaving the door wide open.

Johnny turned back to the edge and placed his hands back on the rail. He looked over down, looking at all the people on the streets, the carts speeding by, even spotting a few paparazzi watching the door on the bottom level, just waiting for the Fantastic Four to appear. Johnny stared in silence, one question whirling around in his head. Was Sue right? Was he in more control than he thought he was?

He was broken out of his thoughts when he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He took it out and read a simple text from Reed. _Doom is back. He's at a science lab on the other side of the city. You coming?_

 _I will never surrender, we'll free the Earth and sky, crush my heart into embers, and I will reignite_

 **Author's** **Note** \- I hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter. The next chapter should hopefully be post in about a week. Please review, I would love to know your thoughts!


	8. Learn to Fly

**Disclaimer** – So sorry for the long wait. Here is chapter 7, the final chapter. Hope you guys enjoy. Please review, I would love to know your thoughts! As usual, I own nothing. Song used is Superheroes by The Script.

 **Chapter Seven**

 _Learn to Fly_

 _All her life she has seen, all the meanest side of me, they took away the prophet's dream for a profit on the street, now she's stronger than you know, a heart of steel starts to grow_

Sue ran towards the Fantastic Car, Ben and Jim right at her heels. Reed was already in the driver's seat waiting for him.

"Did you call Johnny?" Sue asked as she sat down beside her husband.

"Sent him a text. Hasn't responded." Reed explained as he waited for Ben to sit down.

"I'll fly." Jim told them as he let his flames consume his body and took off. Reed started up the car and shot a glance at his wife. Sue was staring at the door, waiting for someone to appear.

"It's his decision Sue. It's okay if he's not ready to jump into action." Reed said. Sue nodded, and they took off.

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _All his life he's been told, he'll be nothing when he's old, all the kicks and all the blows, he won't ever let it show, 'cause he's stronger than you know, a heart of steel starts to grow_

Johnny stared at the phone in his hand, the text message staring back at him. He should go. He should be out there, helping people, helping his family, yet he couldn't bring himself to stand up from his spot on the ground.

 _"_ _But you have never let us down. You always pull yourself together, use your powers, as destructive as they may seem at times, and used them to help us, and help save everyone on this planet."_ Sue's words came back to him. Johnny stood up and walked back to the railing.

Was he really going to let his fear control him like this? He had let it before, and he ended up hurting Franklin as a result. Maybe Sue was right, it wouldn't be the first time.

A sudden loud explosion in the distance caught his attention. Johnny looked up and saw the fiery ball rise in the air, on the other side of the city, where his team was.

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _When the moment is just right, you see fire in their eyes_

When the team had arrived, they found Doom already leaving. He looked back at them, his eyes the only thing visible through his mask, but Sue could've sworn he was smiling. Seeing him again brought back every bit of anger she possessed in her body.

This was the man who had attacked her and her husband countless amounts of time. This was the man who had attacked her children. This was the man who had just kidnapped and injured her brother.

Before Sue knew it, her force shields were coming out of her fists towards the monster. Victor fell down, but managed to press something on his wrist, and a whole army of Doom bots appeared, shooting lightning all around them.

Sue however ignored them. She ran straight to Doom, throwing a force punch at him every chance she could, while Reed, Ben and Jim started attacking the bots.

Soon, the Invisible Woman was in front of the man who had caused nothing but trouble, and was punching him right in the face. Doom, while bending down, focused his hand and shot lightning right at her. Sue flew back into the air and hit the ground hard.

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do this." Victor taunted, standing up and lifting his arm, when suddenly, it was on fire.

"Get the h*ll away from my sister!" Johnny ordered, standing behind Victor. Victor slapped his arm, putting out the fire, then moved to attack the younger man.

 **FANTASTICFOUR**

 _She's got lions in her heart, a fire in her soul, he's got a beast in his belly, that's so hard to control, 'cause they've taken too much hits, taking blow by blow, now light a match, stand back, watch them explode_

Sue watched from her spot on the ground Johnny and Victor attack each other, Victor throwing his lightning bolts, and Johnny throwing his balls of fire. Sue stood up, clutching her stomach, where Victor's lightning had struck her.

Sue threw another attack on Victor, pushing him to the ground. Johnny looked up at his sister, smiling as he saw her back on her feet.

"A little help over here!" Reed yelled, ducking to avoid one of the robots.

Johnny closed his eyes and lifter his arm, and the robot attacking Reed suddenly caught fire. Then, three more of the bots caught fire as well. Sue smiled as she watched her brother harness his new ability.

Ben, Jim and Reed, all stopped fighting, as Johnny was causing all the bots to catch fire. It wasn't until the bots were all destroyed, did they realize that Victor had snuck away while they were watching the Johnny destroy the robots.

"Where did he go?" Sue asked, looking around trying to spot the villain.

"I don't know, but we probably don't have to worry about it. He'll show up again sooner or later." Reed answered, coming over to his wife, and wrapped his arm around her.

"Come on, let's go home." Reed said, and he, Sue and Ben got into the fantastic car, with Jim. Before following them though, Johnny made the fantastic four signature, the fire lighting up the sky. Johnny smiled as he looked back at his work, then followed his family home.

 _When you've been fighting for it all your life, you've been struggling to make things right_

 _That's how a superhero learns to fly_

 **Epilogue**

Victor stood in the dark alley and watched as the Fantastic car flew away, with two fiery figures following.

"Oh this isn't over." He promised, looking at the test tube he had stolen from the lab in his hand.

"This is far from over."

 **AN** – And that's the end of the story folks. I hope you enjoyed it. I am hoping to write another, as you could probably tell by the epilogue, but it might be a while before I get it going. Please review and tell me your thoughts.


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